9559 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

1 LI Table 1. Number of potential pond sites and ponds known to contain fish that were examined during field investigations between 1996 and 2002 along the Colorado River between Rifle and the Colorado/Utah state line and along the Gunnison River between Austin and the confluence with the Colorado River. 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 Year pond was investigated Number of pond sites investi gated Number of ponds that contained fish Colorado River Gunnison River Colorado River Gunnison River 1996 2 1 2 1 1997 18 2 15 2 1998 27 10 20 6 1999 141 45 73 15 2000 62 42 2001 12 8 11 3 2002 1 1 Subtotal 263 66 164 27 Total 32 9 1 91 Of the 329 potential pond sites that were investigated, fish were present in 191 ponds and fish were absent in the remaining 138 pond sites (Table 2). Of those ponds that contained fish, 169 ponds were permanent, three ponds were ephemeral, one pond was nearly taken over by the river but became isolated during low flow, and 18 ponds were either stocked with endangered fish (16) or native non-listed fish (2). Of the 138 pond sites where fish were not collected, 44 permanent and 64 ephemeral ponds were identified. Ponds no longer existed at 16 of the 138 pond sites because the river had engulfed them since 1995 (Mitchell 1995). One pond was under scientific investigation as a flooded bottomland and 13 pond sites, that were mistakenly identified by Mitchell (1995) as fish ponds, were either water or sewer treatment ponds (6) or were misidentified as ponds (7). Of the 82 pond sites that had only anecdotal information, 29 ponds reportedly supported fish and 53 were void of fish (Table 3). Comparison of high and low flow aerial photographs revealed 24 permanent ponds, 15 ephemeral ponds, and nine ponds that had been taken over by the river since 1995 (Mitchell 1995). During the period of this study, six ponds have either been stocked with endangered fish (4) or were under 8